american public. after that, president wilson's decision in 1917 to enter world war i. his use on human rights, world affairs, democracy, and america's role in the world. then, a look at the events that brought the u.s. into the war, from the national world war i museum in kansas city missouri. >> each week american artifacts taking her to museums and historic places. we visited woodrow wilson's house in washington dc, where the 20th president retired in 1921, after leading the nation through world war i and its diplomatic aftermath. he died here three years later. executive director robert and homer leading us to the house, highlighting objects that provide a window into world war i, as wilson experienced it. the united states entered the war on april 6, 1917, as an

ally of britain, france, and russia. 2 million american soldiers saw combat in france. >> i am the executive director of this, president woodrow wilson house, the site of the national trust for historic preservation here in washington dc. this home is the home to which president and mrs. wilson moved to the very day that they left the white house in 1921. the home itself was built in 1969 the wilson's acquired it in december 1920, knowing that they would be leaving the white house and decided to remain in washington dc. this home is a time capsule, basically taking us back about 100 years, and it allows us to see the way that the world was then, we sometimes have the illusion that people in history were very much like us, only they wore gaudy clothes or something, but actually the wilson's lived in an era when americans felt differently about themselves, about america's role in the world, when society was different, and

the artifacts in this house i think open a door into that world. and, i would like to help us do that today by looking at a couple of the artifacts in this home, telling the story about america's involvement with world war i. now we are 100 years from that date when the united states entered the war in 1917. that history is studied in eras and epic, lived in hours and days, this is very true with the wilson's, and world war i. often associating the sinking of the lusitania with the united states entering into the war, there certainly linked, but the lusitania was actually sunk in may 1915, and we did not enter the war until almost 2 years later in april 1917, president wilson had to get up every day in those two years, and deal with the fact that we were either going to be in the war or not going to be in the war, and all of the reactions

of people, constituents, other nations, political figures that he dealt with, some of them thought we should have entered the war at the beginning of the war in europe, and others felt strongly that we never should have entered the war, and wilson had to navigate that period of time, and those decisions, as our president. i think it is fair to say that woodrow wilson is the most consequential president from the time of abraham lincoln until franklin roosevelt. i say that because he was our president during this remarkable event in world history. really, a reflection point in world history and american history. not only dealing with world war i, but the rise of the united states as a force in the world. by 1900 the united states had the largest economy in the world, but the consequences of that were not fully appreciated until the end of world war i one america's role as a military power and as a diplomatic power understood and

acknowledged, and it was woodrow wilson who is our president during that entire time, who really brought that change in america's role up to the floor. wilson was a remarkable person, who executed this change, he was a deeply religious person, he was a religious man, he felt like we had a duty to do better than to collapse into war every generation. he was a political scientist one of these founders of discipline of thought one of the first presidents of the american political science association, and so he thought that we could do better he believed that we could govern ourselves better as a world on the combination of those two, firmly held principles in his mind, and his heart led him to conclude as world war i progressed, that there ought to be a better solution that would result not only in the resolution of this war and the wars of the future and prevent wars in the future, and from that came his idea of a league

of nations, to which he devoted not only his political career, but arguably, his life and his place in history. so, the artifacts that we have in this house can tell us the story of woodrow wilson's involvement with world war i if i had to pick one artifacts, to explain that story it would be this. i tell people to look sometimes, it looks like a divorce, but you will recognize immediately that it is an artillery shell casing, this was the casing from the first shot fired by american troops, in world war i in europe, and there are a couple of things about this, it was fired in october 1917, general pershing he was the commander of the american expeditionary force in europe, had the thought that he should say this, and save it to president wilson as a memento of america's involvement in the war. it is interesting that we declared war in april, and yet the first shot was fired in october. it took us six months to go from the idea of engaging in

world war i to actually being on the ground and engaging with the enemy. the most remarkable of this, is that not only is this an artillery shell casing from the first shot fired by american troops, in europe, it is the first shot fired by american troops in europe ever, in my lifetime america has always had an army in europe, but in woodrow wilson's lifetime the opposite was true we had never had an army in europe, at the beginning of world war i the united states was tied for the 13th largest military in the world, tied with serbia and greece, by the end of world war i, we had 4 million men in uniform having gone from 200,000 to 4 million, and half of them, 2 million, service personnel were in europe at the end of world war i, so, just the logistics of that is astounding, realizing that when world war i

erupted, the combatants were not even concerned about america's role, and yet today we think of america as an indispensable power in world politics, at the beginning of world war i we were not, and it was woodrow wilson who achieved that transition. i have heard presidents of both political parties say in my lifetime that the united states does not go to war basically to build an empire, or to acquire territory, but we go to war for principal and for rights, and it was woodrow wilson who was the first american president to annunciate that proposition. need only guide you back 20 years earlier to the beginnings of the spanish-american war, which was undoubtedly about taking over the colonies of dwindling spanish empires, wilson thought that going to war was about securing and bringing peace, so, this artillery shell casing is here on the mantle in his bedroom, where he had it, fair to say it

was not a trophy, it was more of a reminder to him of the work undone, that the creation of a league of nations had occurred, he was there, and even with the nobel peace fries, 1919 establishing the league of nations, as americans we should always remember that our country never joined the league of nations the senate declined to ratify the treaty, he went on a trip across the country, hoping to appeal to the american public, to override the will of their senators, but that never happened, the league of nations failed, in a series of votes in 1919, and early 1920, so the united states never joined, interestingly, later in life i think that wilson had a saving grace about this telling one of his daughters he recorded in her memoirs he said, i realize that great ideas do not rely on their advocates, they have a logic of their own, and the power of their own, and it

would be only 25 years later when the un was founded, and it is fair to say that no nation in the world was more intent on pounding the united nations at the end of world war ii than the united states. in 1945, when the un charter was signed in san francisco, in a way, that is the conclusion of a conversation that woodrow wilson had begun in american politics, in 1918. another artifact that is remarkable in this room there are so many, i would invite you to come to the house to see all that we have but were related to world war i, this sculpture, this was a gift to hit woodrow wilson from a young artist, a philippine artist in his 20s, in the united states, he had a day job, as most artists do, as a waiter, and one of his regular patrons was the secretary to the first lady, and the artist, had done this project as an art

project, as a grad student, and told the woman he knew who is associated with the white house that he had done this in 1919, inspired by president wilson's efforts to bring peace to the world, it has the word pact inscribed here which of course means peace in spanish, and, he was invited to meet with president wilson, and as i read his account of coming to the white house with a statue under his arm wrapped in a towel, in those days, one did not encounter the secret service until you ring the doorbell and he was announced and he went into the oval office where he spent some time with president wilson and presented this gift which was warmly received, we knew that he lived in this house and he had a sculpture here in a shelf in his library as well for the time that he was here, the story is amazing, wilson introduced tolentino to bernard who some of our viewers

may recognize as an arts patron, also a supporter of president wilson, and he helped support him in getting an education, and eventually a phd, and going back to the philippines where he became one of the great artists for the history of the philippines it is interesting for me that our 28th president had a role in the career of a philippine artist who went on to live until the 1970s, 1980s, and had an impact in his own country, vastly beyond that that we have here, still kind of amazing work, the gown of the woman, the figure of the woman and a child looking off into the distance, presumably looking for peace, standing on a promontory or a rock under which you can see chains and a crown and a world war i helmet, very redolent with symbolism and a favorite piece of president wilson. president wilson passed away in this house, actually in this room in 1924. 's widow edith wilson lived

here until remarkably 1961, 37 years after he passed. and, she left this house to the national trust for historic preservation, to be a memorial to president wilson. over his bed we can see a work of art, a textile painted on a wood frame, and, it was presented to wilson during world war i by an italian artist when he was visiting new york city. it was a favorite piece of wilson's, and he had it hanging over his bed in the white house, and then over his bed here at the f street house on the bed here also an interesting artifact, a pillow, and the pillowcase has been woven into the likeness of president wilson, which is a little unusual, but the story explains that, during world war i the united states they sent food aid to belgian which was partially occupied by germany during the war, and part of it came in flour, in sacks, the

belgians who had a centuries- old tradition of weaving lace, did not have the fine threads to leave during the war, but, they would take the flour sacks, and they would undo them and then re-weave them into designs, and this one was a gift to president wilson and actually is a likeness of him, together with some work around the edge to decorate, it is an amazing example of what people will do in war, when they are limited in the materials that are available to them, and yet they have a skill and they want to exercise that skill. this is the drawing room in the house, and, his home tell so many stories, every room has stories to tell, but one of the important stories in this room is the high regard with which

the american president was held, by the leaders of the world, certainly by the end of world war i, and so, many gifts of state in this room, and acknowledgment of wilson's, important role in the end of world war i, and then securing the peace, the versailles treaty and establishing the league of nations, today, we probably rightly think so much more of world war ii than world war i, world war ii was closer to us in time, my own father was fighting in world war ii, it also was a more disastrous war, more damage, just from casualties about 18 million people died in world war i, but 60, 65 million people died in world war ii, for the contemporaries of world war i there had never been a catalyst on this scale, that they were enduring, and, it is hard for us to think today to put ourselves back in the minds and passions of people in the early

20th century and realize just what a tragedy world war i was to them, and how hopeless things must have seemed, in the middle of that war which extended from 1914 until november 1918, and, so into that, president wilson brought the united states, and not only did american troops lead to victories, for the allies at the end of the war, but also, and enunciation of the 14 points which you may remember from high school, but at that time we were really important, what is said among other things was that war could be terminated or ended on principle, it did not have to be a fight to the death, and this was innovation coming from a senior leader of an important country, and additionally, the 14 points can be seen as a response to the bolshevik revolution in russia which had occurred just two or three months earlier in october 1917.

the 14 points announced in january 1918, so wilson was basically saying, we can maintain western europe and the world that we all know, we can still have the forms of government that we are comfortable with, and we can end this war without a fight to the death. and it will take another but a part of one year nine or 10 months until the german empire accepted wilson's 14 points, as a basis for a negotiated peace, and the date of that acceptance was known as armistice day, and today we call it veterans day, but, that is how important that that day was we still honor it as a national holiday, even 100 years later. so in that time, wilson was a world leader who was bringing hope for peace to the world, when he went to europe and negotiated the bursae treaty at the end of world war i, stayed up there for six months, it took him 10 days and an american warship to go across

the atlantic, but there was nothing more important than ending the great war, and, he stayed to do whatever it took, and while he was there he had time to visit four countries, paris france of course, he was staying in france visiting italy, belgium, and great britain, while he was in early he went to rome and when he was there he met with the pope, this is a gift a mosaic actually that was a gift from the pope to president wilson it is such a fine mosaic, that you are to be forgiven if you think from a distance you think it is an oil painting and scholars of art will recognize it, the detail, by an italian painter, this was a work of the vatican workshop, and a gift that the pope presented to president wilson as a way to wish him well, in bringing peace to the world, at the paris peace conference. here is another amazingly beautiful work of art, this is a painting by a fellow who is

romanian, and later romanian american, one of the consequences of world war i is that the ottoman empire which had governed what we think today of the middle east, turkey in that region, the ottoman empire collapsed after having control that area for eight or nine centuries, and in that transition the armenian people suffered previously. who is our president? woodrow wilson and he responded to that crisis by sending food aid to armenia, one of the first examples of international humanitarian relief, thinking of our role in humanitarian relief today, that was the precursor to that, the armenian people were very grateful, and a group of armenian women touring the united states raise money for median charities were here in 1917, just after we declared war, and, presented

this painting to president wilson. the artist and his wife were among the women, it depicts their niece wearing traditional armenian -- traditional armenian costume and holding a flower which symbolizes hope and that is the title of the peace. it shows the great role of america and bringing humanitarian relief and being a player if you will on the international stage. another gift that we have in the home, three plates here, these point out, these hand planted plates, three of 15 plates that were a gift to president wilson, from the king and queen of belgium, carl and elizabeth, who he visited when he was in europe, and then they reciprocated by coming to the united states in the fall of 1919.

this is the first trip to america by reigning monarchs from europe, thinking we had been a country for all this time, because of travel, british kings and queens, french kings and queens they had not visited the united states, but the belgian king came to the united states and presented president wilson with 15 plates, in a lacquered velvet lined box with a shelf for each plate, he had about one month before suffered a stroke that was very devastating for his help and his presidency, it is not a convenient time to come, he had an audience with him while he was in bed, recuperating from a stroke. and, the first lady took the king and queen on a tour of the white house, and before they left they returned to his bedroom and they found him with a magnifying glass, looking at the plates, and both annette quickly realized that each plate depicted one building in belgian that had been destroyed in world war i. and so, these

plates really were in some way, a reflection of the damage that had been done in europe, and a thank you to wilson for bringing the war to its conclusion, and for reestablishing the normal society that they had been rebuilding following world war i. when president wilson went to paris for the paris peace conference he became the first american president to go to europe while in office. and, while he was in europe, he went to great britain and actually was at a reception hosted by the king and queen of england at buckingham palace. if you think about it for one moment the first american president ever to meet aching of england. and, these are the portraits, or the photographs of the king and queen, george v and queen mary, which were presented in wilson, in silver frames with their initials on them, these are their official portraits, and both are autographed, by the royal family.

americans always ask so i will just say that these are queen elizabeth grand parents, and if you look closely, she bears quite a resemblance to her grand mother, queen mary. >> outside the library is a statue, that deserves note, will drought wilson and his wife were great supporters of the red cross this is one way that the united states was involved in world war i, even before we declared war and became involved militarily. and, the red cross did great work in world war i and was supported by many americans, including prominently the president and the first lady, this sculpture was based on a popular poster of the time, it is called the greatest mother in the world, and it depicts a red cross nurse kneeling and cradling in her arms what you

might initially first think is a baby but actually it is a small soldier, who has been previously wounded, it is an amazingly empathetic work, and, i can imagine why the american public was so taken with this image, the idea of the nurses tending to the soldiers who were wounded, in this horrible contra gratian that was sweeping through europe and most of the world., we need to be involved, do right and do well, so, the wilsons, this was presented to president wilson, we think by the artist, sometime during world war i. here in his library, as you might expect in a 100-year-old home we have a whole range of artifacts that tell a story, this cabinet is full of gifts, and mementos of his presidency, but maybe the most amazing and the one that relates the most

clearly to world war i, is this pain and paint stand, the pen is the pen that he used to sign the declaration of war, in april 2019 -- 1817 the way that this would have worked wilson earlier that week had given a speech before a joint session of congress, the house voted the senate voted and then they brought him the declaration of war, later at the residency in the white house, and him and his wife were having lunch, and, he said where they pen? and this was in an era before ballpoint pens, and he said, use mine, april handled pen that was a gift from president wilson to edith wilson, sitting on a stand as a whole story of its own, it is awol risk task that has been carved in the shape of a walrus, with inlaid gold, and it was a gift from the inuit tribes in alaska to

president wilson. just to remind us that this was before alaska was a state, when it was a territory of the united states. over here, is a statue that was a gift to the first lady, edith wilson, from the city of rome, i mentioned earlier that president wilson was the first american president to go to europe while in office, and interestingly, edith wilson was the first american first lady to go to europe, while in office. if you want to think about it that way, and she had to answer a bunch of questions, about how does the first lady conduct herself? how does she dress? all of the sorts of formalities, of being the wife of a head of state and going to another country. so, when the wilsons visited italy, president wilson was in rome, and was given honorary citizenship by the city of rome, but, edith was given this statue, which of those of who are aware of the statue of italy the statue of rom is and remains the founders of rome, and on it are the initials ft

to r which stands for the senate and people of rome. truly a very touching gift, and it also fits into the theme of that era of the growing role of women in society, edith accompanying resident wilson, raising questions that were in the minds of americans and others around the world in that time, of, what role were women to have in our society? it would be really about that same time during the wilson administration that the 19th amendment was finally confirmed, and that women received the federal constitutional right to vote, in the united states. and in her own way she was forging a path for women that continues to this day of the first lady, accompanying the president on state business, and having a formal role.>> this is a radio microphone from the 1920s, it was from this

room that president wilson made the first nationwide radio broadcast on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of armistice day. which was november 11 1923. and, it was a microphone like this that wilson used to give a four minute speech, on this occasion, he was quite anxious about it, he spent the day sitting and napping off and on no one had ever spoken on the radio like this before, at the former president, and at that point having endured a stroke and still, recovering, anxiety about going on the radio. and, so, he gave a speech about 8:00 that evening it was very well received, and so, we have this microphone here to commemorate that remarkable event. he is the occasion to appeal to the american people, to reconsider the united states rejection of the league of nations, since we never did join the league of nations, and wilson at this time appeal to americans, remembering both

that it was consistent with the principles of our nation's founding, and also consistent with the sacrifices made by our troops in world war i, that we join the league of nations. wilson was to pass away about three months later, in this house. his last public address, so, really to his last day, he was appealing to america, to really conclude world war i, by joining the league of nations, a final step that we never took. for now on the first floor in what president wilson called the dugout, a big fan of baseball, which became popular in america when he was a teenager, this was the room in which his secretary would do correspondence and whatnot, one of the world war one related artifact that we have here is this and people often ask what is it?

it looks like dryer lint it might have been collected, and in a funny way it is, it is wool, but before it is woven into clothing, and of course, the other end of the clothing cycle, the story is, as the united states got more and more involved in world war i, the white house decided that they ought to free the workmen who otherwise were doing mowing and landscaping at the white house, freeing them to support the war effort, so the wilsons got a flock of sheep starting out six or eight sheep and by the end, 12 she bore more, but, they would munch on the grass and every spring, the sheep would be short and the wilsons would divide the sheep, of wall, into 50 different parcels, one for each state, 48 states, one for the district of columbia, and one fork puerto rico, and these were the options, to raise money for the american red cross, so, this is an example of wall that was actually auctioned on the boston commons during world war i, to help support the american red cross from sheep that tended to the

white house lawn. another artifact in this room, is this platter. it is a pewter platter, and, let me put on my gloves so that i can handle it without staining it, this was a gift to president wilson from the people of belgium, and as you can see it is in horrible condition, that is not because they left the platter it is actually pulled from the rubble of a burned building, in belgium, and, this was presented to wilson, at the end of the negotiation from the paris peace conference, and the versailles treaty, and in a way i think that this artifact is very pointed telling the story of the beginning of the war and also the end of the war, i would like to read what is inspired -- inscribed on it here, he says to the imminent president of the usa, woodrow wilson, i'm not going to read

exactly what it is, the person role this publicly, french was their first language are not english, in any event. it says, in remembrance of his visit, in belgium, june 1919. this dish has been drawn, out of the ruins of hotel de la renaissance, grand +30, in belgium, entirely destroyed by the fire, which has been systematically inflamed in the town by the german soldiers, on four dash five september, 1914. this is an artifact of the german invasion of belgium, that really started world war i. and, students of history will remember germany's plan, was to sweep through the low lands of belgium, take paris before anyone could respond, and then, we'll enter into russia, and defeat them, that

plan of course did not work, because in large part belgium resisted the invasion, and so, this fire, september 4 and fifth was said about one month after germany invaded, i do not remember in detail but the german plan had the german army going to belgium in about one week, so, the hostility of that time, the violation of the neutrality of belgium, very intense issues, in his time, in a way, the belgians were presenting this place to wilson -- plate to wilson to demonstrate the passions that were felt in that time, the intensity of the negotiations that he had conducted in versailles. remember, there were 26 belligerent or combatant nations that participated in this world conference, nations including india, including japan, also involved in the hostilities during that war, and, they had among them 18

million people, you think how excruciating these negotiations must have been compared to the sort of international negotiations that we have today, over things like climate change, or trade treaties. and, wilson brought all those parties together to sign the versailles treaty to bring an end to world war i but also to establish the league of nations, that he felt was so important to maintaining an enduring peace. this is where he almost takes on the dimensions of a greek tragedy someone who thought that he knew what ought to be done, ringing the treaty back to the united states, and there his political opponents were not of the same view as he was and they have a legitimate view and we can certainly debate it and in fact we do still debated today, the rule america had with the world wilson 100 years ago, saw the arms of history, and imagine that the world would need something like the united nations, and he founded it in

1919, the un does not work perfectly today but it is still an amazing legacy of our 28th president. to have seen so clearly what the world would need to minimize the risk of war in the future. >> you can watch this and other american artifacts programs, any time, by visiting our website, american history tv continuing each evening this week. with programs on world war i, this year marking the centennial of the end of the great war. tuesday, the role of naval warfare, the fleets of the allies and central powers, the artillery, and the battle strategies employed at sea, wednesday, historians reflecting on the discrimination, lack soldiers faced during and after the war as well as the racial violence and killings that persisted on the home front. despite military service.

thursday, some of the constitutional issues considered by the u.s. supreme court during world war i. and friday, the soldier experience, including trench warfare, and the strategies and technological developments used to drive opponents out of their trenches. american history tv start each night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. next on lectures in history, sean mcmeekin talks about how the united states became involved in world war i, he describes the goals of many of the countries involved, and the terms of the treaty of versailles. which eventually helped end the war, he also reviews president woodrow wilson's role in crafting the treaty, and its public perception in the u.s. >> hello again everyone, thank you for coming, particularly on such a cold february day. i believe that we